One by one, man through the ages has kicked over the hurdles which shorten his life: disease, malnutrition, the elements in their severity, preying beasts, and preying men. Now that humans are essentially at peace with their fellows and with nature in many areas of the globe, more people are reaching "old age" than at any time in history. But it is not always "ripe old age." Modern civilization has put up other hurdles which tend to cripple these new survivors in their longer life: tensions which hit the heart and brain, employment deprivations which hit the pocketbook, sociological problems which hit future outlook.

All of this pressure on a burgeoning population of oldsters has brought about what many authorities describe as a national problem—how to create a proper climate for senior citizens to grow with their age rather than stagnate in a tremendously expensive wait for death. Since medical